Africa's leading energy producers are prioritizing cross-border cooperation to address inadequate or obsolete infrastructure, which has so far prevented the full exploitation and monetization of the continent's oil and gas resources.
As a result, a number of regional oil and gas pipeline projects that have been announced, advanced and/or are expected to be accelerated next year. The major oil and gas trade and distribution networks that are expected to shape the African hydrocarbon industry in 2023 and beyond include:
Central African Oil Pipeline System
Launched last September by Equatorial Guinea's Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, HE Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, the Central African Pipeline System (CAPS) will link countries in Central, East and West Africa - including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi - to help combat energy poverty and reduce dependence on non-African energy imports. The system will include refineries, gas-fired power plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and multinational oil and gas pipelines.
Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline
Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding last September between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria. The Moroccan pipeline is expected to make significant progress from 2023. Both countries are looking to maximize the monetization of natural resources in the region as energy demand increases and the Russian-Ukrainian war restricts global supply. Earlier this month, Foday Mansaray, director general of the Sierra Leone Petroleum Directorate, also signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of NNPC and ONHYM to confirm Sierra Leone's commitment to help make the project feasible. The pipeline will connect 13 African countries.
Trans-Saharan gas pipeline
The respective energy ministers and heads of the national oil companies of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria took the Trans-Saharan pipeline - a nearly five-decade-old project in the making - to a new level in June by establishing a working group and a roadmap for the development of the Trans-Saharan pipeline. As the three countries seek to increase the use of gas resources to boost regional energy security and energy exports to Europe, the trans-Saharan pipeline is expected to enter a new era of accelerated deployment in 2023. The 4,128 km pipeline will have an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas and represents a strategic opportunity to diversify European gas supplies, particularly in light of the currently sanctioned Russian gas.
East African Crude Oil Pipeline
Last November, the $10 billion, 1,443-kilometer East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) received approval from the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), a key step forward for the project. This step follows EACOP Ltd, the company leading the implementation of the project, filing an application to start construction of the project with the Ugandan government. When completed in 2025, the pipeline will transport up to 246,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania for export to world markets. Meanwhile, 2023 is expected to reach new heights in terms of regional cooperation and development as the respective governments of Tanzania and Uganda seek to boost upstream activities and hydrocarbon development to spur economic expansion.